Sales taxes slipping

Sales tax revenue the state collected last month fell to $1.65 billion, 11.6 percent lower than it was a year earlier. The portion of that revenue that will go to Texas cities - $367.4 million – is 6.8 percent below what cities were allocated last August.

“Sales tax collections in July were again down significantly as major sectors of the economy, such as retail trade, oil and natural gas and construction remain weak,” Combs said.

She also said the big drop was a function of how strong state sales tax collections were last July.

It’s little consolation to city budget planners struggling to balance spending plans next year with a shrinking revenue base. San Antonio will receive $19.4 million in the August allocation, down by 8.5 percent from what it received a year earlier, the comptroller’s office said.

San Antonio budget planners forecast that the city’s general fund will see its sales tax component fall by 4.4 percent this year but rise by 1 percent next year as the economy solidifies.